…Swiss Embassy lauds Edo’s holistic strategy in curbing menace
Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has said the state government needs support from international development agencies and other external partners in dealing with cartels fueling human trafficking and illegal migration if the incidence is to be checked on a more sustainable, long-term basis.
The governor this said during a courtesy visit by a delegation from Switzerland, who are on a factfinding mission on the incidence of illegal migration in Nigeria, at the Government House, in Benin City.
Obaseki said, “We are investing in our basic education system as well as skills acquisition and job creation programmes. We are strengthening our legal system and accelerating economic development to discourage illegal migration.”
“But there must be more commitment from all partners in tackling illegal migration and they should put in real resources for resettlement, prosecution and helping us create job opportunity for these young persons,” he added.
According to him, more collaboration is needed in the areas of enforcement and prosecution of traffickers at the local and international levels, adding, “these traffickers have cartels abroad that we need to deal with.”
He noted that the state government is working to encourage regular migration through skills acquisition programmes for youths, stressing, “We are giving our youths hope and want them to know that if they acquire skills and are educated, they will find a job.”
Earlier, the Migration Adviser, Embassy of Switzerland, Jolanda Pfister Herren, said the delegation was on a fact-finding mission to assess her country’s partnership on migration with Nigeria.
Herren said the team had earlier met with the Edo State Taskforce on Human Trafficking (ETAHT), adding that the team is impressed with the holistic approach being used to combat the scourge.
“We are here on a fact-finding mission to understand how the partnership on migration our country has with Nigeria is functioning. We are keen on finding what could be done better, the gaps and make some recommendations. The partnership is to tackle the negative ills of migration and benefit from the positive effect of migration,” she said.
